Polarized relay



Nov; 22, 1932. J. D. DURKEE POLARIZED'RELAY Filed Nov. 1, 1928 FIG. I

INVENTOR J- D. DURKEE ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES JAMES DONALD DURKEE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA POLARIZED RELAY Application filed November 1, 1928. Serial No. 316,511.

(GRANTED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883, AS AMENDED APRIL 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) My invention relates broadly to polarized relays and more specifically to a polarized relay which may be operated by very weak currentg and is capable of operating at very high spee d Present polarized relays as used in radio and wire telegraphy greatly limit the speed of signal transmission and reception and require comparatively strong currents for operation.

The object of my invention is to provide new and improved apparatus whereby reception and transmission of signals may be obtained at very high speeds even though operated by very feeble currents.

Further objects of my invention will appear more fully hereinafter as the method and apparatus is developed.

My invention consists substantially in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts associated therewith or as will be 1 more fully hereinafter set forth as shown by the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of my invention in its application to wire telegraphy;

Figure 2 is a diagram of my invention showlng arrangement of apparatus when used in connection with a vacuum tube;

Figure 3 is a diagram showing such relay when used as a radio relay.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, my improved relay consists of a permanent magnet 1, having four poles 2, 3, 4 and 5, poles 2 and 4 being of like polarity and poles 3 and 5 being of like polarity with'respect to each other but opposite in polarity with respect to poles 2 and 4. Symmetrically disposed 45 with reference to the poles 2, 3, 4, 5, I'have pivoted an armature 6, the pivot point being indicated at 7. Surrounding the armature 6, are two fixed coils 8 and 9, the air cores of which are 'sufliciently large to permit displacement of the armature 6 about its pivot point 7 toward the poles 2, 3, 4 and 5. The cells 8 and 9 are so wound that the flux therefrom passing through the armature 6 is additive.

The terminal 10 of coil 8 is connected to a source of power 11 through a resistance 12 and a choke coil 13. The other terminal 14 of the coil 8 is connected to one side of a condenser 15. One terminal 14 of the coil 9 is connected to the other side of the condenser 15 and the other terminal 10 of the coil 9 is connected to ground as at 16 and to the ne ative terminal of the source of power 11.

t is to be understood that, while 1 shall describe herein but one set of control contacts operated by the armature 6, any number may be operated thereby without departing from the scope of my invention. lVith this in view,

I have shown a set of contacts 17 and 18 upon one end of the armature 6 and positioned in m relation thereto are another pair of contacts 19 and 20. With the air core of the coils sufficiently large to permit free movement of the armature 6 therein, when the armature 6 is displacedtoward the poles 2 and 5 of the magnet 1 contacts 17 and 20 are closed and when the armature 6 is displaced toward the poles 3 and 4 contacts 18 and 19 are closed. In order to show the operation of my de-- vice in its simplest form I have shown it connected to a land line 21 which is operated by a key 22. The line 21 is connected to the terminal 10 of the coil 8. The line resistance I have indicated at 23 in series with the key 22, one set of contacts of which are connected to ground as indicated at 16'. v With the key 22 open the condenser 15 is charged in polarity as shown. The flow of charging current through the coils 8 and Q, into the condenser 15' causes the armature 6 to 'inove from its central position toward the poles 3 and 4 of the magnet 1, thus closing contacts 18 and 19. The residual magnetism in the armature 6 and the permanent magnetism of the magnet 1 will hold the armature in thisposition' until a magnetic flux of opposite polarity is. induced in it by a reversal of flow of charging current through the coils 8 and 91 This reversal of current will occur when the key 22 is closed for the reason that condenser 15 discharges through coils 8 and 9 due to the direct connection of the terminal or the coil 8 to the terminal 10' of the coil 9 through the line 21, and its resistance 23., the ke 22 and the ground connections 16 and 16 '1 he flow of current through the coils 8 and 9 in discharging the condenser induces a flux in the armature 6 in. opposition to the residual magnetism therein and the magnetism induced therein by the magnet 1 reversing its polarity. The poles 2 and 5 then swing the armature 6 to the other limit of its swing closing contacts 17 and which I shall hereinafter describe as the marking position of my improved relay.

The armature 8 will remain in this position after the flow of current through the coils 8 and 9 has stopped for the reason that the an mature 8 has therein a magnetic flux which consists of the residual magnetism remaining from the ilux of the coils 8 and 9 and the induced. magnetism therein from the poles 2 and 5. The choke coil 13 and the resistance 12 tend to hold back the current from the source of power 11', thus allowing the discharge of the condenser 15 through the coils 8 and 2 to pull the armature in the direction or the poles 2 and 5. I

Referring particularly to my improved relay and the disposition of the resistances 12 and 23, l have'itound that should one short circuit the terminals 10 and 10' of the coils 8 and 9 with a conductor of negligible resist ance the discharge or" the current through the coils 8 and 9 and the condenser 15 is so rapid that the inertia of the armature 8 is sufficient to hold it in any one position without movement until after the surge of current from thecondenser is over. For this reason l-have provided an armature 6 which has very small inertia and in addition to this l have added as at 23 more resistance to the line 21 in order that the discharge of current through the coils 8 and 9 will be sufficiently slow that the magnetic flux from the coils 8 and 9 will polarize the armature-8 so that it will shift its position when the key 22 is closed.

Likewise l have provided a resistance 12in 1 the circuit as shown so that when the key 22 is opened the rate of flow of current from the source of power 11 through the coils 8 and 9 into the condenser 15 will be sufficiently slow for the flux from the coils 8 and 9 to polarize the armature 6 to the reverse polarity and the armature to move back to its original position before the fiow of current through the coils 8 and 9 has completely stopped.

From this description it will be seen that the resistances 12 and 23 bear an important relation to my improved relay in that they together with the values of condenser 15, the choke coil 13 and the coils 8 and 9 determine the speed at which my improved relay is to operate.

neaaaav For relaying feeble signals ll prefer to use the arrangement of apparatus as shown in Figure 2, which is substantially the same as Figure 1 except that the source of the signals to be relayed is connected into the grid-lilament circuit of a vacuum tube 25 by means of terminals 26 and 27 -lhe grid-filament cir-' cuit of the vacuum tube 25 includes the source of signals connected at 26, 27, a resistance 28, in parallel therewith, and a grid biasing battery 29. The filament 30 of the vacuum tube 25 is heated by a battery 31. The terminal 10 of coil 8 of my improved relay is then connected to the plate 32 of the vacuum tube 25 and the terminal 10 of the coil 9 is connected to the filament 30 of the vacuum tube 25.

The operation of my improved relay in the relationship just described is as follows: when there is no signal potential across the terminals-26, 27 the grid 33 is maintained.

at a negative potential by means of the grid biasing battery 29 acting through the resistance 28. W hen signals are impressed upon the grid-filament circuit of the vacuum tube 25 the grid 33 momentarily becomes positive. This unblocks the tube 25 and allows the condenser 15 to discharge through the coils 8 and 9 and the plate-filament path of the tube 25 operating the armature in a manner described with reference to Figure 1.

in l igure 3 l have shown my device arranged in a manner to be operated as a radio relay., Herein numeral 34 indicates the primary of a transformer 35 which is connected in the output circuit of a radio receiver. The secondary 36 of the transformer 35 is connected to the terminal 27 of Figure 3 and to the plate 3'? of a rectifying tube 38, the filament 39 of which is heated by the usual battery l0 and which is connected to the terminal 26 of Figure 2. The terminals 26 and 27 are herein shown as shunted by a condenser 41.

Herein, l haveshown my improved relay as operating contacts, 17, 18, 19 and 20 but it is also to be understood that the connection of the armature 6 to the diaphragm of a loud speaker as indicated at 42 is equally within the scope of my invention.

From the above description, it can be readily seen that l have developed an improved relay, the speed of which may be controlled by the respective values of the impedances of the coils 8, 9 and 13 and the value of the capacity of the condenser 15. With a given set of coils 8, 9 and 13, the speed of my improved relay may be controlled by the value of the condenser 15. Conversely with a given condenser 15 the speed of my improved relay may be controlled by the variation of the impedances of the coils 8, 9 and 13, severally or collectively.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanying drawing comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of my invention and that minor detail changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

Having thus described my invention What I claim is:

1. A relay circuit comprising a relay, a condenser in series therewith, a vacuum tube and circuit having an impedance and power source in the plate circuit thereof,said relay and condenser being shunted about the' impedance and power source and means for blocking the plate circuit whereby the condenser discharges through the relay and energizes the same.

2. A relay circuit comprising a polarized relay, a condenser in series therewith, a Vacuum tube and circuit having a resistance and power source in series in the plate circuit thereof, said relay and condenser being shunted about the resistance and power source and means for blocking the plate circuit whereby the condenser discharges through the relay and energizes the same.

3. A relay circuit comprising a polarized relay, a condenser in series therewith, a vacuum tube and circuit having a resistance and power source in series in the plate circuit thereof, said relay and condenser being shunted about the resistance and power source and means for unblocking the plate circuit whereby the condenser is charged and the relay is energized.

4. A relay circuit comprising a polarized relay, a condenser in series therewith, a vacuum tube and circuit having a resistance and power source in series in the plate circuit thereof, said relay and condenser being shunted about the resistance and power source and a rectifier controlling the grid of said vacuum tube for blocking the plate circuit whereby the condenser is discharged and the relay is energized.

5. A polarized relay circuit comprising a polarized relay having a plurality of coils for operating the moving elements thereof, a condenser in series with said coils, means for charging and for discharging said condenser through said coils comprising a vacuum tube circuit having a resistance in series with the power supply in the plate filament circuit thereof, said condenser and coils being shunted about the same and means controlling said vacuum tube circuit for blocking and unblocking the plate filament circuit thereof whereby said condenser is charged and discharged.

6. A relay circuit comprising a relay, a condenser in series therewith, a vacuum tube and circuit having an impedance and a power source in the plate circuit thereof, said 

